biography
Whitney Walker began his music career playing gutter blues in the Pacific Northwest during the mid nineties. His early band, Pay The Coyote, cut their teeth in the local dive bar circuit, then Walker has spent the last couple of decades playing countless solo shows throughout the country and in almost as many bands (Happy Inside, Dixon Bendego Trash, Arthur C. Lee & Whit Walker, For Morning). In 2005, Walker's life veered way off track when he began using drugs, which led to a life-long addiction struggle, divorce, custody battles, and even gang violence. His life went so far off track that by 2009, Walker found himself homeless in Portland, Oregon, living under an overcoat in Laurelhurst Park. This pattern would continue throughout Walker's adult life. His experience with homelessness inspired the song "Reverse Cowboy," which was written as an ode to the 'King Of the Homeless', a legendary transient in Portland, whose nose was broken seventeen times as Whit was told from the the King's mouth (the King being "Cowboy").
Whitney's life brought him front and center to the suffering of the destitute, the junkies and the addicts, the thieves and even the gangsters. His music career ultimately became fully derailed when Whit's life became occupied with a steady stream of tribulations, trials, and tragedies, all of which would finally, after many years, become the foundation for Whitney’s new material, but his battle took a turn for the worst in 2009 when he attempted suicide by stabbing himself in the heart multiple times, leading to two open heart surgeries and a month-long coma.
Walker was finally able to turn his life around in 2011 by getting sober. He then became a social worker and now helps addicts find treatment and rehabilitation. Because of his own personal struggles with mental illness, he holds an active position in the Portland, Maine community through assisting the destitute. In 2014, Walker became friends with Will Bradford, bandleader of SeepeopleS, and during the recent Covid lockdown, Bradford and his band mates, alongside Whit's current bandmates and extended musical family (including legendary baritone saxophonist, Dana Colley of Morphine), helped him bring his songs to life.
Whitney Walker released the first two singles, 'Amatle' (2020) and 'Reverse Cowboy' (2021), off his forthcoming new album 'A Dog Staring Into A Mirror On The Floor' (RascalZ RecordZ, 2023). For more info on Whitney Walker please visit:
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